From Tycoons to Pop Singers, Ukrainians of All Walks Come Together on the Front Lines; Putin marks Victory Day with little to show for 11-week war; Zelensky Marks Victory Day With a Promise of Russia’s Defeat; House to Vote on Nearly $40 Billion Ukraine Aid Package, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

By admin On May 10, 2022

From Tycoons to Pop Singers, Ukrainians of All Walks Come Together on the Front Lines:

Ukraine’s Territorial Defense forces, steeled in battle, try to make up with motivation what they lack in experience

When Russia invaded Ukraine, Vsevolod Kozhemiako, one of Ukraine’s leading businessmen, was skiing with his family in the Austrian Alps.

This weekend, in his new role as military commander, he sprinted between courtyards of this front-line village north of Kharkiv, trying to avoid being spotted by a Russian tank that operated from a nearby tree line.

“For me it was natural. There was no other way,” Mr. Kozhemiako, 49, said about his decision to take up arms for Ukraine. “All my friends are here. I didn’t see any other options.”

The farming entrepreneur was ranked by Forbes magazine’s Ukrainian edition as the 88th wealthiest Ukrainian for 2020, with a net worth of around $100 million. Together with other Kharkiv businesspeople, he has poured personal funds into helping stand up a company-size special unit of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense’s 127th Brigade.

These days, Mr. Kozhemiako’s unit is fighting on its first combat mission in Ruska Lozova, just north of Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv. The village, along the main highway to Russia, was recaptured from the Russians on April 29, at the outset of the unfolding Ukrainian counteroffensive in this part of the country.

As fighting rages across eastern and southern Ukraine, Ukrainian forces have managed to liberate several towns and villages in the Kharkiv region this month even as they were forced to retreat under Russian fire from towns such as Popasna in Donbas.

Russian troops are still constantly shelling Ruska Lozova, with tank incursions from Russian positions down the road probing Ukrainian defenses. Virtually all the civilians are gone. One of the few buildings that was still intact Saturday morning caught fire after being hit by a tank round by the afternoon. —>READ MORE HERE

Putin marks Victory Day with little to show for 11-week war:

With no major new battlefield successes to boast about, Russian President Vladimir Putin marked his country’s biggest patriotic holiday without even uttering the word “Ukraine.”

The Russian leader oversaw a Victory Day parade Monday on Moscow’s Red Square, watching as troops marched in formation and military hardware rolled past in a celebration of the Soviet Union’s role in the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the vital Black Sea port of Odesa came under repeated missile attack, including from some hypersonic missiles. The Ukrainian military said Russian forces fired seven missiles from the air at Odesa on Monday night, hitting a shopping center and a warehouse. One person was killed and five were wounded, the military said.

As part of the barrage, a Russian supersonic bomber fired three hypersonic missiles, according to the Center for Defense Strategies, a Ukrainian think tank tracking the war. The center identified the weapons used as Kinzhal, or “Dagger,” hypersonic air-to-surface missiles.

Hypersonic missiles travel at five times the speed of sound.

Intense fighting also raged in Ukraine’s east. And Russian forces sought to end the resistance of Ukrainian defenders making their last stand at a steel plant in Mariupol. —>READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:

+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++

+++++Zelensky Marks Victory Day With a Promise of Russia’s Defeat+++++

+++++House to Vote on Nearly $40 Billion Ukraine Aid Package+++++

Putin is gambling that the West will lose interest in Ukraine — let’s prove him wrong

Hackers hijack Russian TV to say country has ‘blood on your hands’ for Ukraine war

Putin sparks more health speculation by covering legs with blanket at parade

Russian ambassador to Poland splattered with red paint during protest

Biden signs Ukraine bill, seeks $40B aid, in Putin rejoinder

Russia steps up attacks on Ukraine during ‘Victory Day’

Ukraine Pursues EU Accession, Which Macron Says Could Take Decades

G7 heads vow to defend Ukraine on WWII anniversary as Putin claims ‘Nazism’